Fortis Academy students started off the school year being witnesses to history.

History teacher James Hilton took students to the Houston Ship Channel on Wednesday to observe the USS Texas move from its dock in La Porte at the San Jacinto Battleground to a shipyard in Galveston for repairs to its hull. For some students, it was the first time that they’d ever visited the San Jacinto Battleground.

Hilton used the opportunity to impart lessons from his curriculum to his students. The vessel is the last remaining battleship to have served in both world wars and was the first ship to become a permanent museum after it was decommissioned in 1948. Afterward, Hilton took students fishing along the coastline.

Fortis Academy is Harris County’s first public high school for students recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. To learn more, visit hcde-texas.org/Fortis.